Do you think it's time to end affirmative action?Well, your answer may not matter much because Ward Connerly thinks it is and he's leading the crusade to end all government race and gender based preferences. Guess what? He's winning.
Moving state by state by state, Connerly and his peculiarly named American Civil Rights Institute, have already led successful statewide campaigns that ended affirmative action in California, Washington and Michigan.
But Connerly and his supporters have their sights set on the next victories. ...
While many of us focused on the Democratic presidential primary dramas, Connerly (pictured to the right) and crew were hard at work pushing to get affirmative action ending initiatives on the ballots in four states. If you live in one of these key states, take note. Your vote may be deciding even more in November than the next President of the United States.
Connerly is aiming to put deceptively named "civil rights initiatives" on ballots in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, and Nebraska. Connerly hails the vote in November as the "Super Tuesday for Equal Rights," and says that Barack Obama's political ascent proves that there is "no place for race in American life"
To be candid, the Obama candidacy gives me a great sense of pride, not because he and I are brown-skinned and multiracial. I am proud because we live in a nation that is demonstrating that the color of a person's skin is of little significance to us. For over a decade, I have been telling black people that they have it wrong when they characterize our nation as an "institutionally racist" one. I've argued that the American people are essentially fair and yearn to move beyond race into an era of "color blindness." The Obama candidacy validates that point.
Clearly Connerly and I live in two different America's. But now that his name's been brought into this, it's true that Barack Obama has yet to fully explain his position on affirmative action and has smacked down the idea that his girls should qualify for it:
In an interview last May on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," the senator was asked whether his own daughters should someday receive preferences. His response was startling: "I think that my daughters should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged." He added, "I think that we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty and shown themselves to have what it takes to succeed." His comments lit up the blogosphere with speculation that as president he might spearhead a major policy change, shifting the basis of affirmative action from race to class disparities.
I believe a move toward class based affirmative action policy is overdue. I don't see why rich black children of Alpine, New Jersey should get more favorable consideration for college admission than poor white kids from Appalachia. But in the meantime, the transition should be handled carefully. Beyond the college front, there is a whole lot of money at stake in terms of how government contracts are doled out in business. Like so many aspects of American society, what this comes down to is less about black or white and more about green.
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Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, says the country is "in the throes of recession." His remark comes as he defends his chairmanship of the U.S. central bank, rejecting suggestions that his policies contributed to the current rough times. (Photo by Lauren Victoria Burke/ABC NEWS via Getty Images)
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Graphic charts monthly unemployment rate for the past 13 months.
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Commuters climb the stairs from a train station as they head to jobs in New York's financial district on Thursday, April 3, 2008. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the economy might already be shrinking. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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Job seekers use computers to search for jobs at the Marin Employment Connection April 4, 2008 in San Rafael, California. The Labor Department announced Friday that the national unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent and nearly 80,000 jobs were cut in March as worries of a recession grow. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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SAN RAFAEL, CA - APRIL 04: Copies of the California Job Journal are displayed for people to browse at the Marin Employment Connection April 4, 2008 in San Rafael, California. The Labor Department announced Friday that the national unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent and nearly 80,000 jobs were cut in March as worries of a recession grow. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Comments: (44)
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By: Cecil Jones on 6/11/2008 12:40PM
Anyone already thrown under the bus knows there is no such thing as "Affirmative Action" or "Equal Rights" in business. The courts will not interfere with a businesses right to make money and it will not tell one who they must hire or fire. Affirmative action is already a dead concept and with this formal announcement, I pray we get Obama to blame for it. I want a world where nobody can play the race card or cry victim. This will force the powers that be to focus on the chronically unemployed and undereducated to bring us out of poverty and the "New Slavery." We are people passed over to employ "Illegals." The illegal worker doesn't complain and cannot sue. If you sue, you're through! Jury duty checks your background and the facts can make you hard to employ.
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By: darrell on 6/12/2008 6:51AM
#1 I agree that affirmative action is a dead concept, however if you want a world where no one can "play the race card or cry victim" then you have to get rid of racist behavior and treatment. It if not playing the race card as you put it, when someone treats you differently because of your race and you complain. I suppose there are some people that beleive that prejudice is all in black peoples head. If God granted me the power to make you black for say a month, you would see a world of difference. Please read Howard griffith's Black Like Me, might surprise you.
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By: BeFree on 6/12/2008 8:05AM
Yo.
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By: BeFree on 6/12/2008 8:13AM
Just who are the powers that be Cecil Jones? Since when did they become more powerful than THE HIGHEST OF THE HIGHEST? What power do they have that exceeds that of the DIVINE SOURCES? The people can and will decide their own destiny just as soon as they wake up. Its true that even with this so called AA, there are still disadvantages. Its no secret and the world knows that here in the U.S.A., there are still color barriers crippling the progress of what could be one of the greatest countries in the world. They already make that claim although I disagree. This is a beautiful country no doubt, but I liken it to a woman with a beautiful face yet and ugly soul or man for that matter. :)
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By: LILMAMMA on 6/12/2008 8:23AM
I am from the state of California and I must say since this Oreo got his hands in on things it has been a nightmare for the minority. I feel it is people like Connely or however he spell his name that need to go back under the rock they came from and if we don't wake up as a people then Martin, JFk and Bobby and all the great leaders that came before us that laid down their life for us was all a joke. Wake up people and shut this racest mouth. He has done enough and I am not speaking for the Black Race I am speaking for the HUMAN RACE. SPEAK UP AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD.
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By: thismustbesaid on 6/12/2008 8:23AM
I do not beleive that would be a wise choice to end Affirmative Action sence blacks are not buying up any businesses nor are they buying America, Budwiser is for sale a guess who's eye's are on it, those over sea's, buildings in New York for sale guess who's eyes are on those, people over sea's and none of them are black, ending Affirmative action is not in the best intrest of any one in my opinion. Afirmative Action protects blacks and insures them a fair chance at getting a job, in the future it will also insure white Americans also sense people over sea's are buying up America and we are letting them due to our weak dollar. We must not allow this to happen America wake up.
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By: ronnie on 6/12/2008 8:37AM
i bet if connerly was jet black he would feel different
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By: ronnie on 6/12/2008 8:40AM
he would think different if his skin were very dark
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By: Larry Fafarman on 6/12/2008 8:52AM
One of the rationales for "affirmative action" was that it helped minorities overcome the effects of past discrimination, but that rationale was introduced over forty years ago. Today AA is demeaning because it implies that minorities can't make it without special treatment. Minority-group members who do succeed solely on merit have a cloud of suspicion hanging over them that they received special treatment. This cloud of suspicion discourages minority-group members from striving to succeed, because they fear that they will not get credit for their efforts. It is high time to get rid of AA that is based on race, ethnicity, and sex.
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By: michael on 6/12/2008 9:31AM
Its always a black man that takes down his own.nobody has to kill the black race .we are killing each other.wake up stop it.i hope he's the first one they fire.then let him cry for his rights.how much are they paying this sell out anyway.
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